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JOYS AND SORROWS OF THE APOSTOLATE MUST BE RECEIVED WITH GLADNESS AND FORTITUDE THROU - stephenkhoo - 05-07-2013 05:35 PM
06 May 2013, Monday, 6th Week of Easter
JOYS AND SORROWS OF THE APOSTOLATE MUST BE RECEIVED WITH GLADNESS AND FORTITUDE THROUGH THE GRACE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OUR CONSOLER
SCRIPTURE READINGS: AcTS 16:11-15; JN 15:26 – 16:4
As the Feasts of Ascension and Pentecost draw near, the liturgy focuses on the theme of witnessing. As the forty days of Jesus’ appearance to His disciples comes to a close, they would be sent forth as His witnesses to the Resurrection. We too are called to be witnesses to Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
In the apostolate, sometimes we meet with great joy and success, as Paul and Luke experienced in their mission at Philippi, a Roman colony and the principal city of that particular district of Macedonia. They were fortunate to have an attentive audience comprised mostly of devout women who were open to the Good News. We read that “one of these women…was in the purple-dye trade”. She listened “and the Lord opened her heart to accept what Paul was saying.” After “she and her household had been baptised she sent us an invitation: ‘If you really think me a true believer in the Lord,’ she said ‘come and stay with us’; and she would take no refusal.” St Paul must have felt consoled that he was not rejected but instead, was given a gracious welcome.
Indeed, in many instances, by being a witness of Jesus by living a life of love and service, we bring joy and happiness to others. When we help people by listening to them, giving them advice, encouragement and hope, we experience great joy in our hearts. Hence, while living a life of love and service can be difficult, it also brings great joy and fulfillment.
But we must also be realistic as well. Even doing good can get us into trouble. Indeed, being a witness of Jesus is not always easy. Perhaps, the most difficult part of Christian witnessing is not about being unappreciated but in trying to be faithful to the gospel, to live the truth in our lives. As Christians, we are required to stand up for what we believe in. Quite often, we feel the need to compromise the truth. Sometimes, our superiors would even tell us to lie and to engage in falsehood. As subordinates, we are caught in a dilemma. Perhaps, they could be our friends whom we empathize with. When they do something wrong, we try to protect them and shelter them. We are in many ways accomplices to falsehood in the world.
Not only do we find it so difficult to live the truth of the gospel, it is even more difficult to proclaim the truth at all times. In the face of injustice, sin and evil, we choose to keep quiet, so as not to rock the boat and pretend that nothing is wrong. By faking ignorance as if it is not our responsibility, we are perpetuating the sin of those who are committing it. That is why the work of a formator or any leader is a thankless task because it is difficult to correct those who need correction. Most people do not wish to be corrected because as the gospel says, they think they know what they are doing.
What is the real reason for not speaking the truth? Simply because we are afraid! We are afraid to lose our jobs, to lose the support of our superiors and our friends. We want to have good relations with everyone but often at the expense of our conscience and infidelity to the truth. We put our self-interests before Christ. By so doing, we neither have real love for Jesus nor for others.
Speaking the truth will entail persecution, hostility and opposition. No one wants to hear the truth. No one wants to be corrected. Many of course do it out of ignorance and misguided zeal, as in the expulsion of the disciples from the synagogue. St John was inferring to such an expulsion when he had Jesus saying, “’I have told you all this so that your faith may not be shaken. They will expel you from the synagogues, and indeed the hour is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is doing a holy duty for God.”
So we must not be surprised that suffering, trials and rejection are part and parcel of witnessing to Christ. Yes, Jesus pre-warned His disciples, “I have told you all this, so that when the time for it comes you may remember that I told you.” Yes, if we are not ready for the sufferings that come with the ministry because of the lack of truth in our lives or because we know the truth too clearly, then we are deluding ourselves.
In the face of such a prospect, we must inquire as to how we can remain firm in proclaiming the truth without fear or favour. Firstly, we need to be with Jesus. We need to know Him and what He stands for. Jesus told His disciples, “And you too will be witnesses, because you have been with me from the outset.” For us to be with Jesus is be like Lydia, listening to the Word with an open heart and welcoming the Word in our hearts so that Jesus can dwell in us. Unless we know Jesus, we are not ready to stand with Him.
Most of all, we need the assistance of the Holy Spirit, without which nothing is possible. The Holy Spirit who is the common Spirit of the Father and the Son will help us to know Them. By knowing the love of the Father and the Son, we will be able to carry out His will. Indeed, people are often ignorant of their sins. Jesus said, “They will do these things because they have never known either the Father or myself.” So, in order to proclaim the truth clearly and the truth as truth, we must be immersed in the truth ourselves. We need the Holy Spirit to enlighten us in the truth. But most of all, we need His love, for as the prayer of St Ignatius says, even if the Lord can take away all our memory, will, intelligence and whatever we own, to have His love and grace is enough for us to carry on. No wonder then, for the Holy Spirit is called our Advocate and Consoler.
In the final analysis, the Holy Spirit is the real witness of Jesus. This was what Jesus taught, “When the Advocate comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness.” Our task is to allow the Holy Spirit to act in us, by enlightening us, filling us with the love of the Trinity and empowering us to proclaim and act courageously in the name of Jesus.
Written by Coadjutor Archbishop, William Goh
Spiritual Director, Catholic Spirituality Centre (CSC)
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